What is Systems Engineering?
Engineered products, services, and processes have become incredibly complex with interactions between humans, software, electrical components, mechanical devices, nature, and a host of other elements. Inadequately considering these interactions has caused catastrophic losses of life, property, and money. Systems Engineering is an interdisciplinary approach that enables the realization of successful systems through the identification of needs, requirements, testing, troubleshooting, integration, verification, and validation.
Why Systems Engineering?
The demand for qualified systems engineers in the state of Utah has grown rapidly. Recently, organizations in the public and private sectors have successfully lobbied the Utah legislature to provide targeted funding to the Department of Mechanical Engineering to increase the number of students pursuing their education in Systems Engineering. As an effect, the University of Utah now offers a Master of Science in Systems Engineering (MSSE) degree and a Graduate Certificate in Systems Engineering (GCSE).
Youtube video describing the U's Systems Engineering ProgramsPursuing your Systems Engineering Education at the U
The Systems Engineering courses are in person and online and provide three major recognitions. Students earning a B+ or better in SIME 6400 and 6410 will earn equivalency from the International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE). This equivalency allows people to become INCOSE Associate Systems Engineering Professional (ASEP) or Certified Systems Engineering Professional (CSEP) without taking the INCOSE exam. After 15 credit hours, most students will be able to earn the GCSE. Since 15 credit hours of nonmatriculated courses can count toward a degree, a student could earn both of these achievements as a nonmatriculated student. The student could then be admitted to the MSSE and be halfway done with the 30 credit hours. All curriculum requirements are identical in the on-campus and online versions of each program, with some specificities that apply for each program regarding enrollment and tuition.
Despite slightly different tuition mechanisms, the cost of a 3 credit online graduate course is set each year to be equivalent to the cost of a graduate student taking exactly 3 credits of Price College of Engineering graduate courses as a Utah resident. This affordable level of online tuition is enabled by the Utah legislature’s continued funding of its Engineering Intiative and Systems Engineering programs.
The primary goal is for the U's systems engineering education to be the best in the world, if the measurement of effectiveness is the usefulness to the student's lives and career. The faculty are working toward this goal by providing quality courses with real world applications, and individually applying Systems Engineering principles in their own lives and careers.
We hope you choose to study Systems Engineering at the U. For additional information, check relevant sections in this website or contact us directly.